New Zealand rally star Hayden Paddon has set himself up with a winning mindset, taking victory in the one-day Rally Bay of Plenty on 5 September, before heading to Poland for the final FIA European Rally Championship event where the goal is to win his second ERC title with John Kennard next weekend.
The Bay of Plenty event, round five of the 2024 New Zealand Rally Championship, saw Paddon competing in the PRG-run Hyundai i20 Rally2 car with Christchurch’s Jared Hudson as co-driver. It was a long day for all competitors, volunteers and spectators with the first stage getting underway at 6.35am and stage 12 starting after 4pm. Paddon and Hudson secured a 3 minute, 13.8 second victory over the second-placed NZRC competitor Emma Gilmour, and winning the power stage as well to maximising the points earned.
With 120 points, Paddon is now within 12 points of current NZRC leader Ben Hunt with 132 points and just one event – the International Rally of Whangarei – to complete the NZRC season in early November.
Paddon says: “It was a good weekend at Bay of Plenty. The Hyundai Rally2 ran faultlessly, and the team did another amazing job. We missed out on a clean sweep of stage wins with a puncture on the last stage, but otherwise it was a successful and clean day. It was great for all of us to tick the box and take maximum championship points to help us close in on the championship leaders just one round to go next month.”
Now Paddon heads to Rally Silesia as the eighth and final round of this year’s ERC taking place 11 to 14 October in and around Katowice, the capital city of the Silesian province in southern Poland. The all-tarmac event comprises a super special stage on the Friday in Katowice, eight stages (96.74 km) on Saturday and six stages (81.56km) on Sunday.
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard lead their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships with 131 points, 27 points ahead of the second-place pairing of Mathieu Franceschi and Andy Malfoy.
“John and I are very excited to be heading to Poland with BRC Racing with just one goal in mind – to do what we have to do to win the championship. The calculations vary depending on what Mathieu Franceschi, our closest rival, does and also who wins what power stage points. But our focus is worrying about our own performance, and a top five result would put all those calculations out the window and allow us to be in control of our own destiny.”
Rally Silesia is part of the ERC for the first time.
“We have been to Rally Poland several times as a gravel rally, but never a tarmac rally like it is this year, so it’s a new experience for us. The local competitors have good experience of the stages, and they will play a factor in the championship points for the round.
“We will prepare for the rally in the same way we do for any other rally and stick to our tactics of driving at a good pace.”
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